LOl, no they didnt, that was a major issue.

I would be very wary of anything not mainstream and without local dealer support.

The van is needed for work. Even if you can get parts online for a rarer vehicle, a day or two off work waiting for delivery will eliminate any savings you may make.

I don't know your business - but I would think you need load lugger rather than perfomance, good spares back up, dealer support if not diy. Small van cost savings may be illusory if you lose a couple of days a year waiting for spares and risk unhappy cutomers.

I'd prefer an XYZ. ;-)

I believe there is a (small) market for them (dropside/flatbed/chassis cab anyway) as milk floats in rural country areas with narrow lanes.

I do also remember seeing pics and videos of 4x4 versions which looked quite useful off road and would have worked well on country estates, but I'm not sure any made it to the UK.

A local school has one. When I first saw it I thought it was a BMW fron the front grille.

Yes, I don't think BMW was too pleased by the grill design!.

There are other DFSK's which look very much like a Hummer at the front. Though lets be honest, the Chinese motor industry does have a habit of ripping off other car/vehicle designs and compared to some, the grill treatment of the DFSK isn't pushing any potential legal issues very far!.

Hi, I bought one in december, not the same experience for me.

I drove it 400 miles from near sheffield to aberdeen, The oil still looks brand new and the temp gauge never moved much past zero and it wasn't like a broken gauge, it's ok.

Yay about the paint , am workin on that,, paint not super bad rust. Could not for the life of me n dfsk get a paint code for silver van. A motor factor went for ford moondust silver 91% match, it's ok. couldn't find a plate on van that had that info.

Couldn't get info on what fuse is where as no box cover on van, box cover photo on net is in chinese n has light reflecting , so unreadable. and the place where its fitted under the dash n above wheel, ya need circus abilities to change a fuse.

Mines a 2013,, only 52 on the road in the country. The only one up for parts on ebay , is owned by a delusional price master. DFSk themselfs could be cheaper, £36 ( 42 when sent ) for a rear door handle,, I suppose it's cheaper than other manufacturers parts.

i haven't seen a suzuki carry in scrapyard, actualy compare the parts.

The floor is like the porter, set low between the arches, a Carry ain't. I want to put my motorbike in it, ain't tried it yet. The high roof should help me do that. And its like a matchbox on it's side in the wind.

Everybody wants it and has a use for it.

Brings a smile to faces, especially mine.

does over 75, ive had 2 hijets,, this is not noisy, they were. In common with them is that your left eye is closer to your pasengers right eye , than your own right eye,, lol.

Something somebody said on here, Well I think DFSK describe it as, a City minivan,, that works for me.

Always nice to get an opinion as there are so few, both the vehicle in question and opinions/experience of them.

As with the last time the thread was resurrected, I do still find myself looking from time to time. For the principle reason that I still feel the dropside pickup version would suit my needs better than anything else. There does seem to be a few more of them available now than at previous times I have looked, but the price still puts me off. Excluding old really ropey looking examples, tippers, and catering vans, cheapest between Autotrader and Ebay is a 2021 big cab with 45 miles for just over £13k (including VAT). In terms of design, equipment and (apparent) quality, I don't think they are worth anywhere near that. At £8-9k though, I'd be very seriously considering one, and be looking into the most effective rust prevention treatment for chassis and body, especially so with my living a stones throw from the North Sea! (speaking of which, Theftan Steel, I'm just up the road from you in the 'Blue Toon'!).

It's not that I particularly want a DFSK, but there is nothing else of similar dimensions and payload. I'd even consider a JDM import Kei truck, but they only have a 350kg payload which is about 150kg less than the bear minimum I could get away with (the DFSK dropside has a payload of circa 900kg).

But thanks for that report and I'm glad to hear you like yours so far, hopefully that continues to be the case.

Badbusdriver, out of curiosity are you still driving your transit or did you trade it in for something else?

In my previous job, I used such a flatbed truck for about a year. I think it was Chinese, but the badge on the front looked vaguely like a Mazda badge. Maybe someone here knows what make that is. The thing was reliable, but horribly cramped inside. No room for your legs, and I'm not particularly tall at 6 feet. The indicator stalk is on the right side of the steering wheel, so there were a few days of turning the wipers on when wanting to turn left or right.

As alluded to above I would not want to drive one on any sort of long journey. They are short geared and need thrashing to keep up with traffic, and personally I felt vulnerable in it (especially after driving an Isuzu Grafter).They are on a very small wheelbase. It was bought because it could be driven into a workshop for security at night.

A transit connect/Berlingo/Caddy will be a much more pleasant drive, but if you're a masochist :-)

Edit - I may have got the badge thing wrong, it looks like it was a Dongfeng judging from pictures.

Edited by corax on 24/02/2023 at 13:53

I have a 2014 Dfsk loadhopper with a heat seized engine. What can I do? Is there anyone who can refurb it? Or can it be replaced with another manufacturers engine eg. Suzuki ? Thanks

That is a very tricky question because it is such an obscure make in the UK. I'd have to assume someone could refurb it but no idea where to start looking.

For getting replacement parts, I'd probably start by asking at some or all of the handful of dealers selling them new or nearly new in the UK (look on Ebay or Autotrader Vans). While there is no official DFSK presence in the UK, I'd imagine there must be some kind of rudimentary warranty, possibly parts only. If so, a dealer could maybe point you in the right direction.

As for replacing the engine with one from another make, well first thing is while the Loadhopper bears more than a passing resemblance to the Suzuki Carry, AFAIK the running gear is not interchangeable. That doesn't mean the engine from a Carry couldn't be made to fit, with such a similar mechanical layout and dimensions, they surely are not that diiferent.

But the other thing you'd really need to ba asking yourself is whether it is worth fixing. And assuming you are not able to do the mechanical work yourself, that would depend on you finding a mechanic or garage willing to give it a go, but more importantly, how much they would be charging you

I'm not a mechanic but I'm assuming heat seized means boiled dry?

Might also be worth starting your own thread over on the Technical Matters section of the forum?.